American woman shot dead at anti-settler protest in West Bank

An American woman has died after witnesses said she was shot by Israeli soldiers while taking part in a protest against settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old born in Turkey, was a volunteer with the anti-occupation International Solidarity Movement. She died in hospital on Friday after being shot in the head during a regular protest in Beita near Nablus, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Witnesses at the scene said she was shot by members of the Israel Defense Forces positioned in a nearby field. The IDF has said it is investigating the report. The US state department is “urgently” gathering more information about Eygi’s “tragic” death, its spokesperson, Matthew Miller, said, without immediately assigning responsibility.

The White House said in a statement it was “deeply disturbed” by the killing and seeking an Israeli investigation.

A paramedic, Fayez Abdul Jabbar, told Al-Quds News Network: “We usually have weekly confrontations at Jabal Sabeeh. During these confrontations, the army fired two live bullets: one hit a foreigner, and the other hit another person, whose injury is less severe.” Eygi was treated in the car on the way to hospital, he added. Fouad Nafaa, the head of the Rafidia hospital in Nablus, said doctors tried to resuscitate her but the patient died on the operating table.

The rise in violent attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian villages in the West Bank has caused growing anger among Western allies of Israel, including the United States, which has imposed sanctions on a number of individuals.

Friday’s incident comes a few weeks after around 100 settlers attacked the village of Jit, in the northern West Bank, drawing worldwide condemnation and a promise from the government of swift action against anyone found guilty of violence.

Palestinians and rights groups regularly accuse Israeli forces of standing by as attacks take place and even joining in themselves.